Monday Motivation

Last week was a busy week for me. I started a new internship, said goodbye to a friend of mine who moved back to the states, and had a mini-breakdown that it’s August and my dissertation is due in less than a month. I thought I would put together a few things that helped me through the week, and hopefully help you, too!

This TED talk titled “How To Make Stress Your Friend” by Kelly McGonigal will change your life. Seriously. I don’t think I’ve ever described something on the blog that way. We all know that stress is super bad for our our health…or is it? Kelly’s talk made me completely rethink the way I handle stress and conceptualise stressful situations.

I love listening to podcasts when I’m commuting, running, or getting ready in the morning. They are a great way to keep updated with the news, learn something new, or are  distracting enough to keep me from panicking when the tube is packed at rush hour. I’ve been listening to a new Ukrainian language podcast, as the class I’m taking is on summer holiday. At about fifteen minutes it’s just enough to keep me practicing daily. The NPR Politics podcast has also been a great way for me to keep up with the US election while living in London.

Since I’ve been on the go a lot recently (and occasionally playing Pokemon Go), this EasyAcc power bank I got during Prime Day has been my new best friend. It carries enough of a charge to power my phone four times, which means it can live in my purse during the week always at the ready when my phone is about to die, and has a flashlight!  It’s great, and if you don’t have a backup power pack already, I definitely recommend this one.

Happy Monday!